Labyrinth
by Arwentari
Summary: While trying to rid himself of memories of Sarah and struggling to hold onto his powers, Jareth is confronted with another girl who challenges his labyrinth.


June 22 Note: I'm so sorry I've taken forever to update. I took an online course, and it was more rigorous than expected. I am back now though!

Not sure why, but the date of my last update is not correct. So I will type the date of my last update from now on.

Last Update: 22 June 2011

* * *

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I've fought my way to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child you have stolen..."

At the memory of those hated words, he snapped his eyes open. Despite the fifteen years since their utterance, they still stung.

He swung his long legs off the bed and into his tall leather boots. Swishing his hand through the air, he conjured up a crystal and was soon impeccably dressed in a loose, long-sleeved white blouse tucked into brown breeches with a matching jacket. His necklace gleamed from the center of his chest.

He gave not a fig that the bright moon was the city's only source of light. He couldn't sleep, and for that reason no one else should be able to. He walked outside of his room and grabbed the nearest goblin by the neck. Holding him nearly to his nose, he ordered through gritted teeth, "Ring the city bell. Arrange a Meluki fight to be held in the arena within the next half-hour."

Jareth watched as the goblin's slow, slumbered gaze changed to an expression of consternation. Losing his patience, he yelled, "Now!" and threw the dumb creature against the cobblestone wall.

He would not be left alone to endure Sarah's ghost any longer.

* * *

Charlotte fingered the tattered spine of the book as she paced her room, thinking about the story. She had heard it several times, for long ago she had fallen in love with the Goblin King. Many a fight had she started in daycare when she had pronounced Prince Charming as rubbish compared to Jareth. She remembered that at the age of ten, she had wished the Goblin King to take her baby sister away. She had put on her Cinderella ballgown costume in preparation to being whisked away to a grand ball in the Goblin City.

But the Goblin King never showed up. That day, Charlotte threw the Labyrinth book into a toy chest, where it remained unopened for fifteen years.

'Strange how the mind changes. Mom used to read this to me every night for many years, but now things seem so different..."

Growing up, Charlotte had always compared guys to Jareth. Even when she left her teenage years behind, she still secretly dreamed of her own Goblin King. His essence had been irrevocably instilled into her mind.

Reading it as an adult, Charlotte picked up on qualities of Jareth that she did not particularly care for, such as his selfishness, temper, and conceit.

Sitting at her dresser, she began to absentmindedly twirl her thick hair as she stared at the reflection of light in the mirror.

'All these years I've reverently held Jareth as the quintessential man, but it seems he's less perfect than I thought,' she told herself, hoping she could use logic to fight the strengthening crush. Reluctantly, seeing Jareth's flaws made her see him in a different, but not altogether bad, light. She had hoped to rid herself of her ridiculous childhood crush by re-reading Labyrinth and realizing how unrealistic the prospect of acquiring someone like Jareth was.

"He's a Goblin King. A mythological creature with magical powers. He's not real," she told her reflection.

Charlotte sighed and buried her head into her arms to escape the light's glint that reminded her of crystal orbs.

She had always had a problem with distancing herself from reality. Even though she would soon be graduating as a Doctor, she spent her non-studying time by acting in plays or reading/writing stories. She was going to move to New York next year to pursue acting. She had long ago consigned herself to a life of spinsterhood.

Raising her head to see her blubbering lip, Charlotte allowed herself one more moment of weakness. She cried once more for the love she would never feel, for the children she would never have, and for the life of solitude that she would endure until death.

* * *

The Meluki fight had brought him no peace. All he could think about was how Sarah, with her endless compassion, would object to the fanged, rodent-like critters being forced to fight. Retreating into the dark recesses of his room, Jareth produced a crystal and nearly conjured up Sarah's image. Cursing his faibles, he shattered the orb within his gloves.

He had forbidden himself from spying on Sarah ever since four years ago, when he had seen her happily married and with child, Jareth all but forgotten.

His sadness turned to rage. He began to produce orbs only to smash them.

"Damn my long life!" he yelled, chucking orb after orb at the wall.

"I offered you everything-" crash "and you rejected-" crash "-the King of the Goblins-" crash "-like some pauper-Wahh?"

He looked down to ascertain that his hand was empty. He turned his gloved hands over and over to check. He tried again, but nothing came. He glanced to where the shards of crystal were disappearing on the floor before his eyes.

"Even the magic is leaving me," he whispered incredulously. Wiping the disbelief from his face, Jareth grabbed his jacket and headed to the Wise Man. He couldn't let anyone else find out about his debilitating powers.

* * *

"There's pizza in the fridge. Don't forget that his bedtime's at 8. We'll be back around midnight," Dr. Creely said, heading out the door.

Charlotte turned to the little monster.

"So, Mikey, do you want to color in my Power Rangers book?"

"No! Me want mommy and daddy!" the two year-old screamed, launching himself from the couch to the curtains.

"Mikey, don't do that!" Charlotte cried, catching him before he could tear down the curtains. Feeling trapped, he began to flail his limbs, managing to land a few punches and kicks.

"Ow! Stop that! I-I brought you a gift!"

He instantly stopped moving. He quickly blinked to dry his fake tears so he could see her clearly.

"If you're a good little boy, I'll tell you the story about-" she paused to look around, then she whispered dramatically, "the King of the Goblins."

Mikey inhaled deeply and asked wide-eyed, "Are they real? Goblins?"

"You bet. They take away bad little kids and turn them into goblins."

He kicked her in the belly and landed on the couch as she doubled over. Wheezing, she toppled to the floor. Mikey danced around her, laughing.

"I wish the goblins would take you away. Right now," she said menacingly.

Instantly, all the lights went off.

"Mikey? Mikey?" Charlotte cried, panicking. She heard several footsteps surrounding her.

"Who's there?" she tremblingly asked. At that moment, the window opened and a white owl flew into the room. Charlotte gasped as she saw the owl transform into a man.

Recovering from the initial shock, she recognized his necklace as the emblem on her Labyrinth book. She also noted the puzzled look on his face as he skeptically stared at her. Angling her chin, she crossed her arms and nonchalantly stated, "The Goblin King, of course. So kind of you to fit my bidding into your busy schedule, seeing as you ignored my last request."

His physiognomy contorted itself into a grimace.

"Why you impertinent girl!" he hissed, towering over her. "The Goblin King doesn't take demands, especially not from the likes of you. But seeing as Mikey's already in my castle, I'll keep him there for the time being. I'll even exceed your expectations; you see, I can make goblins from both infants and the elderly."

He snapped his fingers, and the goblins that had previously been loitering about the room disappeared.

"Whose house are they gracing now?" she inquired, determined to keep her voice level.

"Yours," he sneered, enjoying the panic that that one word invoked.

This was too much for Charlotte, who grabbed his sleeves and pleaded, "Please, don't take my mom! She's had multiple strokes; the anxiety would kill her!"

He had been about to push her away, but the genuine fear on her face implored him to listen. He had thought he would have rejoiced at seeing her thus, but instead she was making him feel guilty.

Feeling his control slipping away, he called to mind the pain that he'd bore. He had to be cold if he was to get more magic via new goblins. He peeled each of her hands with his gloved thumb and index finger as though she were contaminated.

"I'll be sure that your mother remains calm while she waits to be turned into a goblin," he conceded, careful not to belie a small smile as she noticeably straightened her spine.

"Thanks," she whispered, leaning briefly toward him. She innately trusted him.

"I have a gift for you," he said, pulling an orb from nowhere. Charlotte followed it as it danced about his hands. A glow was coming from it, accompanied by a magical hum.

"I can give you your dreams. All you have to do is let me keep that insignificant boy and the geriatric, and everything you've ever wanted will be yours," he pressed, holding the orb closer to her. At this new proximity, Charlotte could smell an intoxicating scent coming from the orb. The cloudiness in the orb began to give way to a stage.

Stepping back and balling her fists, she said, "Take me to the labyrinth. Start the clock-I'm ready. Bring it!"

He growled, "You forget your place. Who said you would get to attempt MY labyrinth?"

She'd never forgive herself if her ego cost her mother's life. Targeting his pride, she taunted, "You're just scared that you'll get beaten a second time!"

Too late she realized that reminding him of Sarah was not the best route to take. Jareth flipped his hair with a haughty movement and threw the orb into the air. Charlotte closed her eyes, waiting for the downpour. When it didn't come, she opened her eyes and saw that she was on a hill overlooking the labyrinth.

"You have ten hours in which to solve the labyrinth, or your mother, the boy, _and you_ will become one of us forever."

She spun around to face him.

"Me? Since when was I a part of the bargain? And I thought I got thirteen hours?"

"I figured we'd up the stakes since you're so confident," he spat.

And with that, he faded into nothingness. Being left alone, Charlotte allowed her shoulders to slump under the hopelessness she felt.

"What did I get myself into?" she wondered, looking back at the maze. She trudged down the hill, fighting the despair she felt that only increased upon espying the valley of thorns before her.

'Thorns? These weren't here before..." she thought. After pondering her task, she ran back up the hill. Latching onto one of the lower branches of the tree, she pulled with all her might for several minutes until the branch gave way. She took off her belt and used it to keep the branch on her back. She lied on her belly, holding the ends of her belt in each hand. She crawled toward the thorns, the branch reaching them before her own head.

Before long, a thorn pricked her calf through her jeans. She yelped, surprised by the feeling of having been bittten. She continued to crawl forward, falling prey to more pricks along the way. She collapsed, weary from the unmerciful pain. Bringing her hand to her face to wipe her sweat, she caught sight of a dark green substance covering her wound where she had expected to see blood. Though her movements were limited, she inspected herself as much as she could. Her side, calf, and upper arm were glistening with the green liquid.

She regulated her breathing, demanding herself to remain calm. Descrying a glimpse of light up ahead, she started to crawl again but found the process more arduous than before. She suddenly had an intense heat flash. She felt as though she were on fire, covered with biting piranhas.

"Help! Help me! Someone help!" she yelled as loud as she could through the torture inflicted on her body.

"Follow me," a small squeaky voice said from above. Charlotte thought she saw a piece of confetti, but she couldn't be sure. Her vision was blurring, and she wouldn't put it past herself to be hallucinating. She closed her eyes and waited for unconsciousness.

"No, no, no! This way! You're close to the end!" the voice exclaimed.

With one final burst of energy, Charlotte dragged her battered body through the thorns, at this point feeling so much pain that the next pricks hardly added to her insurmountable anguish.

"Yes, that's right! There's a pond waiting for you at the end!" the voice goaded.

The air had long ago dried her parched, lolling tongue. At the mention of the pond, her speed increased a little.

"You're very close! Just a little further..."

The moment Charlotte peeped her head through the thorns, her face was splashed with water. Splash after splash followed, each restoring a smidgen of health. She dragged herself a few feet more to feel the cool water wash over her wounds.

* * *

'Confound it all, she even looks like Sarah!' he thought, walking about his room.

'Or maybe any human girl would look like Sarah to me,' he allowed, thinking of the Wise Man he'd visited the day before. Jareth was convinced the man had gone dotty with age, what with his babbling, "To see oneself in others is to know oneself," and other such folderol. He had even fallen asleep in the Goblin King's presence.

He shook his head. No matter-he would have his revenge on her kind and save the Underground all in one swoop.

* * *

"Those were no ordinary thorns; what were they?" Charlotte asked the horde of fairies that had come to her rescue. They had filled leaves with water and some of their healing magic to cure her injuries.

"Those used to be flowering bushes that housed colonies of fairies. When the magic began to die, the plants, along with the fairies inhabiting them, turned to thorns. The pricks you felt were a mixture of thorns and fairie bites. We bite humans to get the magic that comes from your imagination."

At this, Charlotte recoiled.

"Oh, relax. If we wanted to bite you, we'd have done so sooner."

Silently agreeing, Charlotte stepped closer to the fairie who'd done all the talking. She stuck out her hand and introduced herself.

"I'm Melinda," the fairie replied, shaking Charlotte's index finger.

"And this," she added, indicating the thirty or so fairies behind her, "is my family, the Corwishes."

"Pleased to meet you," Charlotte said, smiling at the lot of them. "Thank you again so much for saving me."

Staring at the thorns, she noticed that a few of them quivered slightly.

"What's happening to the fairies in the thorns?" she asked quietly.

"Some of them may be fighting back with the bit of magic they got from you."

"Oh, the poor things!"

Charlotte nearly raced back to allow the quivering thorns to bite her again, but Melinda pulled one of Charlotte's locks.

"Remember that green liquid that was putrefying your skin? It's a type of magical chlorophyll that makes you absorb more heat and limits your oxygen supply. It leads to a slow death. Please don't sacrifice yourself over that vermin; they lost hope that you'd come, which is why we're the only fairies left."

"How'd you know I was coming? And are you suggesting that I'm supposed to somehow save your magic?"

"_We_ think you will," she said, members of her family raptly bobbing their heads.

"Humans have dreams, imaginations-great potential sources of magic. The Underground's been deteriorating ever since Sarah left. We figure another human girl could undo what Sarah commenced, and here you are!"

"It seems you have a bigger imagination than I do! I wish I could help you, but I have to save my mom and a little boy from being turned into goblins. I only have-um, how long has it been since you rescued me?"

"I'd say about an hour," Melinda answered, slightly miffed at Charlotte's reluctance.

"I've probably lost between an hour and a half or even two hours! I'm not even in the Labyrinth yet, am I?"

"No, you ain't. This here's MY property, and I'd appreciate it if you'd leave!" barked a grumpy dwarf, stomping over to them. He aimed his spray can at Melinda.

"No!" Charlotte yelled, knocking him down.

"Ger off me!" he yelled, kicking and punching the ground.

"I can't let you kill my friend! Promise not to harm her?"

The dwarf stopped moving to comment, "There ain't no such thing as a friend."

"Why of course there is-she even saved my life! Melinda, aren't we friends?"

The dwarf laughed at her.

"Where's your 'friend' gone off to now, hmm?"

Rising to her feet, she put her hands on her hips and said, "You scared her away, you mean old thing! Now how will I get through the Labyrinth?"

"Oh no, don't you be lookin' at me," he said, suddenly deciding that the dirt on his knees was not as important. "I ain't ever defying Jareth again!"

Realization swept through Charlotte's face as she got on her knees so they could be face-to-face.

"You're Hoggle, aren't you?"

"Hoggle? Don't know no one by that name."

"Yes, you are! I read about you in my Labyrinth book. But Hoggle, I thought you were Sarah's friend?"

Looking flabbergasted, he finally told her, "Oh, alright. I'm Hoggle. And Hoggle is only Hoggle's friend. Sure, things were dandy when Sarah needed my help. She solves the Labyrinth, and what does she do? Wreaks havoc on the Underground. Leaves me in this destruction and hasn't bothered to call on me in 15 years. And she made me Prince of the Bog of Eternal Stench!"

At this, he convulsively shuttered.

"Ehh, Hoggle needs no friends," he muttered, making a dismissive gesture with his hands.

"I'll make you believe in friends yet," Charlotte thought. She took off her ring and held it before Hoggle, who instantly came to a halt. One look at his trance-like state was enough to suppress her doubt about him helping her.

"I'll give you this ring if you take me as far as you can into the Labyrinth," she said, holding the ring above his outstretched hands.

"I ain't never seen something as pretty as that! What is it?" he whispered reverently.

"Sapphire. It's a blue gem. And it'll be all yours if you guide me a ways into the Labyrinth. I think I've got about eight hours left to solve it. So what do you say, have we got a deal?" she asked, making sure the ring glimmered in the sunlight.

Hoggle huffed, knowing that they both knew he'd do anything for that treasure. A moment passed in which Charlotte absorbed Hoggle's childish infatuation for the ring. Her levity at having something over him disappeared as she shook her head, saying, "Bribery's no foundation for friendship. Even though you don't know it Hoggle, you really do have a noble heart. The ring's yours."

Charlotte tossed the ring into Hoggle's eager hands. He looked down at it briefly for a second, then back at her, puzzled.

"Consider it a present from a friend," she told him, turning away from him to face a hut, presumably his, and a great wall. She couldn't risk bearing the sight of him scampering off. Rather than having her feelings hurt, she decided to immediately go on with her journey. Better off not knowing if he unhesitatingly rejected her.

Charlotte briskly took several strides toward the ominous wall, already relinquishing the thoughts of the past and present in preparation for making future plans.

'I can expect everything to be changed. Once inside, I can systematically try to work bits of the labyrinth out. But if I get through this, it'll be due mostly to luck...' she thought. She felt something jab her head. Bracing herself for the worst, she had her fists up when she spun around.

"I'm" huff "coming" puff "have mercy for me short legs," Hoggle gasped from a short distance away. Charlotte in her delight ran to him and carried him.

"Oh, Hoggle!" she cried, overjoyed. She felt the way most kids feel during childhood: loved.

Hoggle tried to wriggle out of her grasp. Charlotte put him down.

"I ain't coming because we're friends. I'm coming because if I didn't, I'd have nightmares of you freely offering your head to the Fireys and such. The labyrinth's changed since Sarah was here; you couldn't trust many then, and you sure can't trust as many now. Don't you humans ever learn?"

Charlotte understood that Hoggle was trying to bring her to reality, but still she wished he hadn't done so so quickly. She concentrated on the wall as she confessed in a dead voice, "I learned long ago about trusting too easily."

Not wanting to frighten him away, she said with forced pep, "But I know I can trust you." She gave him a small smile before turning back to the labyrinth's entrance, focusing hard to keep her memories silent.

* * *

"So Charlotte thinks she knows who to trust, does she?" the Goblin King asked aloud, pacing his throne room. "And to think, she trusted me earlier-me, her known enemy!"

"You wouldn't hurt her though, would you?" an astute (by goblin means) goblin asked. The Goblin King halted and turned to the voice, looking surprised for a second to find himself with company.

"I hope it doesn't come to that; I do so tire of using a lot of magic," he allowed.

Indistinct mumbles circulated the room, presumably about his weakened condition. He began to seethe.

"I will not have my own inferior subjects talking about me behind my back!" he yelled, instantly producing two crystals and throwing them in the air. They soon changed to two large panthers that hungrily eyed the goblins, but that waited impatiently for a command from Jareth. Jareth turned and began to leave the room.

"Don't leave! We serve only you!" they shouted.

"Sic 'em," Jareth said with a smirk, looking back at them. At the instant before the panthers leapt to bite them, Jareth snapped his fingers and they disappeared.

'I so thought I'd enjoy the fearful looks on their faces. Even that no longer brings me comfort. I wish I didn't need them for the magic, but every little bit counts now that it's fading,' he reluctantly thought, his cape swishing behind his heels as he hiked to his room.

* * *

Once Charlotte and Hoggle had reached the wall, Hoggle pushed on a lever to open the doorway to the labyrinth.

"Which way do you think we should go?" she asked, feeling defeated already. The doors had opened to reveal five possible paths, all of which were visible for only about two feet before being swallowed in fog.

After a few seconds of silence, she stopped gaping at the treacherous decision before them to look down at Hoggle. Hoggle was frozen in place, mouth agape.

"I-I haven't been in the labyrinth since Sarah. I spend most of my days at the Bog of Eternal Stench, but once it's 3 in the afternoon, I'm automatically transported to my hut. It sure looks different since I've been here."

Not wanting him to see how disappointed she was, Charlotte gathered her determination.

"I choose...this one," she announced, marching toward the second to last path on the right. Sensing that he'd want to run, she added, "Maybe you'll see something along this path that will remind you of Sarah's steps?"

Fully intending to have rushed back to his hut, he turned to her. Noticing her blue eyes reminded him of the ring she'd freely given him.

"Oh, alright. But don't expect much from me," he huffed, following her.

Once they stepped into the fog, the fog disappeared to reveal a desert.

"A desert? Let's turn back; I don't have any water in case th-" Charlotte began, but was halted by the stone wall that was now behind them.

"Only one way to go now," Hoggle helpfully supplied.

As they made their way, the sand got higher; it was now up to Hoggle's calf and Charlottee's ankle.

"He left because of you. If you had only been a good little girl, he wouldn't have gotten tired of you and your mother."

"Three C's in med school? [laugh] You'll never finish. And if you do, no one will hire you. No one wants someone who's killed another."

"STOP IT! STOP!" Charlotte screamed, crying hysterically. She fell to her knees, pressuring her brain from both sides to cut off the voices.

"How old would he have been now, had you not murdered him?"

"I don't deserve to live!" she cried, throwing herself fully into the sand. The gushing grains pounded against her, and she welcomed the pain, hoping they would drown her.


End file.
